The level of water charges proposed by the Government this week will not be sufficient to remove billions of euro of debt associated with Irish Water from the national accounts, as had been planned.

This is because the likely annual charge per household of €240 will not generate more than half of the income stream needed to fund the new utility, something that is necessary if the debts associated with the water and waste system are to be removed from the national accounts, water charges experts have told The Irish Times.

The creation of Irish Water could move billions of euro of national debt “off the books” and produce substantial benefits in terms of the cost of servicing Ireland’s borrowings, because it could feed into reduced interest charges.

The purpose of the Summer Works Scheme is to devolve funding to individual school authorities to undertake small-scale building works which, ideally, can be carried out during the summer months or at other times that avoid disrupting the operation of the school. Under the terms of the scheme, school authorities are empowered to manage these works with guidance from and minimal interaction with the Department.

As part of the Summer Works Scheme we have helped schools around the country with water and energy management.

We have undertaken extensive work with St Caimins Community School in Shannon including implementing a range of water saving methods in the school, below is a short testimonial from school’s facility manager.

As part of one of our Schools (St Caimins Community School, Shannon) Green Initiatives, we wererequired to look at reducing the Schools overall water and energy usage. Having heard good reports about SES, we made contact with them and asked them to help us out. Following an audit of the School they advised us on the most critical areas that needed to be looked at. They also showed us the initial outlay for carrying out the works and the anticipated payback periods.

To date we have implemented many of their proposed changes and are seeing the savings as a result, some of the work they have carried out includes installing water saving equipment throughout the school, overhauling the heating system and installing new thermostats. I would highly recommend their services and we already have introduced them to another one of our schools.

Abeania Higgins,

Manager IRL,

HOCHTIEF Facility Management

Some of our more recent work includes finding a leak in water pipe of Cooraclare National School in Clare. The school contacted us because they were concerned that they were using much more water than a school of their size ought to be using. Using the Echologics range of leak detection equipment, which we are the sole Irish Distributor for we were able to find the leak in the plastic pipe as you can see below:

If your school is planning on having some work done over the summer or if you would simply like to reduce your energy and water consumption contact us today!

The Taoiseach Enda Kenny has said water charges will be the last austerity measure implemented by the Government.

Mr Kenny’s comments come ahead of a Cabinet meeting later this week where new plans for Irish Water will be put to ministers.

Two weeks after a row erupted between the coalition parties over the scheme, the Minister for the Environment Phil Hogan is reportedly preparing proposals that could allay some of the fears among the Labour Party.

Speaking in Co. Wicklow last night, the Taoiseach also promised that water charges would be fair and affordable.

He argued that in the long run, water charges will actually save the taxpayer money.

IRISH Water contractors were driven out of a housing estate by a group of more than 100 parents and children protesting against the installation of water meters.

Irish Water said it was forced to stop works in the Ashbrook Heights in the Lehenaghmore area of Togher in Cork yesterday morning for health and safety reasons. However, it said the work to install the meters would continue.

Water is essential for life, but many businesses still fail to recognise the commercial importance of this vital resource.

In the twenty years leading to 2030 global freshwater demand is expected to rise by 40%. But despite the stress on water globally, few organisations currently measure their water use, or manage the risks associated with the depletion and degradation of this critical resource.

The total cost of water consumption and disposal within an organisation can often be surprising, and the associated greenhouse gas emissions very substantial. Therefore businesses should be including water measurement and reduction as part of both organisational cost reduction and sustainable development strategies.

SES provides a first class leak detection service and whilst we have worked with some of the biggest companies in Ireland including ESB, Kerry Group, and Element Six, we have also completed lots of work for domestic customers.

Our highly experienced team have all the all the knowledge and equipment required to effectively detect leaks and conduct the necessary repairs.

As part of our service, we allow for an Initial Consultation with all clients that have a leak or suspected leak.

We constantly striving to utilize all the latest methods of detection and equipment required to effectively detect leaks and conduct the necessary repairs. Some of the methods we use include acoustic leak detector, helium leak detectors and the tracer gas method.

Leaks in heating systems are normally small and hard to find. SES use the tracer gas method to find this type of leaks. This gas leak detector method is useful for any size or type of underground pipe and will save you from having to tear up your floor aimlessly searching for a leak.

Our leak detection services are available for a wide range of pipes including plastic pipes.

Below are two pictures of leaking pipes we found for domestic customers in Clare and Galway. These leaks meant that they were losing thousands of litres of water but luckily they caught it just in time before the water charges start otherwise they would be losing money as well as water!

If you suspect that you might have a leak on your property contact us today and see how we can help you!

We recently undertook some work at The Absolute Hotel in Limerick City. The hotel approached us because they were concerned with the amount of money they were spending on water charges.

We advised them that implementing some of our water saving products could dramatically reduce their water consumption. They were particularly interested in our Smart Waterless Urinals.

The Smart Waterless Urinal System completely eliminates the need for water to flush urinals. The urinals have a valve that only opens when in use and shuts airtight when not in use to prevent any smell coming back up the drain.

It is possible to save between €250 – €350 per bowl per year by converting to Smart Waterless Urinals, also 5 flushed urinals could use up to 876,000 Litres of water a year versus no water in with our waterless urinals.

Some of the other key benefits include:

Can be easily retrofitted into existing bowls.

Eliminates the risk of flooding.

Environmentally Friendly.

No nasty smells.

No messy cartridges or barrier liquids.

Simple Maintenance.

Below is a before and after picture of our work at The Absolute Hotel.

If you would like to reduce your water usage in a cost effective and environmentally friendly way contact us today and see what we can do for you!

We are currently completing an extensive survey of Wexford Regional Hospital on behalf of an appointed Consultant Engineer and the HSE.

The survey includes;

All preliminaries and Traffic Management Arrangements,

A complete Survey of all Valves, Hydrants, Connections, etc…

Testing of Selected Hydrants

Pipe Tracing using various equipment to establish the exact layout of the water main

A complete Water Audit of the Site

A Leak Detection Survey of all Water Mains on Site

Producing a Final Report and Updating all Drawings

A full water audit survey of existing water main, domestic connections and all the main bulk meters was conducted.

Data Loggers have been installed on all the main bulk water meters to establish an overall picture of the water usage in the Hospital and to identify any abnormalities in the water usage.

Other tasks to be carried out as part of the scope of works include, carrying out a detailed survey of all the pipework on site using all available methods such as GPR (Ground Penetrating Radar) and Pipe Tracing Equipment (Pulse-Wave Generator).This will both ensure we do not miss any water piping that could potentially be incurring water loss and will also help us produce an exact layout of the site at the end of the survey.

We will also complete a survey of all the fire hydrant on the site. Fire Hydrant testing is required to provide evidence of compliance with your fire certificate and to ensure their optimum performance should a fire occur which as you can imagine is very important for a hospital.

Leak Detection Surveying Fire Hydrant Testing

GPR Survey of Water Main Data Logging of Main Meters

Should you require a Water Audit or Leak Detection Survey, Please get in touch with us today, to discuss your requirements in more detail.

Homeowners who don’t voluntarily supply their details to Irish Water risk losing the ‘free’ water allowance.

Some 1.35 million households will be “invited” to register with the company from this summer, and those who refuse can expect to pay higher bills, the Irish Independent has learned.

This is because the Government is considering penalising people who don’t sign up and provide billing details to the utility company, including name, address and preferred method of payment.

It will award a free amount of water to each person living in the property, after which they will be expected to pay a charge based on consumption.

A source said there was a possibility that “to avail of the free allowance, you will have to register”.

“You will have to identify how many people will be in the house. The free allowance will more likely be a per-person allowance (rather than based on house size), with additional amounts for families.”

Irish Water has expressed concern that customers may not register, but says it is building a computer system with the capability to bill unregistered customers.

The prospect of people not registering is considered “likely”.

Databases holding information such as household charge compliance and connection to utilities including Bord Gais and the ESB will be used to identify houses that haven’t registered.

Internal company documents show it plans to begin a public registration campaign in the coming months, in advance of charges coming into force from October. The first bills will be issued next January.

“Irish Water will approach the domestic registration process through inviting customers to confirm their details,” the documents state.

The semi-state company plans to “actively communicate” with customers to explain the services it will offer; provide a “consistent, professional experience”; and will “initially focus” on providing clean drinking water and waste water services.

MIT group shows xylem tissue in sapwood can filter bacteria from contaminated water.

If you’ve run out of drinking water during a lakeside camping trip, there’s a simple solution: Break off a branch from the nearest pine tree, peel away the bark, and slowly pour lake water through the stick. The improvised filter should trap any bacteria, producing fresh, uncontaminated water.